


reality plays out like poetry

by TR33G1RL



Category: King's Raid (Video Game)
Genre: Childhood Friends, M/M, just some cute fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 06:31:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TR33G1RL/pseuds/TR33G1RL
Summary: I just wanted some more Lucias/Esker in the world. Includes flustered!Esker confessing to Lucias.





	reality plays out like poetry

“Well, well,  _ well.  _ Looks like little Lucias grew up nicely.”

 

Lucias knows that voice  _ anywhere. _

 

The young priest spins around from where he’s been examining himself in the mirror to see a familiar figure standing in the doorway of his room at the tavern. Hair like seawater in direct sunlight and eyes the color of steel blades with the same degree of sharpness and a sly, mischievous smile that has men and women alike swooning at the man’s feet.

 

“Esker!” Lucias exclaims softly as he gracefully walks closer to his childhood friend. His own mouth pulls into a soft, whimsical smile as he sees Esker open his arms, inviting the healer in for a hug. “It has been too long! How are you?” Lucias easily moves into the contact, his arms wrapping around the taller man’s waist as Esker’s arms wind around Lucias’ shoulders. 

 

Esker chuckles low in his throat, an enchanting noise to Lucias’ ears, as he gives the slightest squeeze of his arms around the priest’s body. “It has been  _ far _ too long. I’ve been well, but I’ve missed my favorite healer,” He whispers with his lovely, deep but lighthearted and carefree voice. 

 

Lucias didn’t realize just how exquisite the gambler’s voice has grown in his absence, but now that he’s hearing it again, he can’t help but want to listen to Esker to speak for hours on end.  _ ‘Perhaps that is not a farfetched hope. After all, we’ve been separated for so long that he  _ **_must_ ** _ have stories to tell,’  _ Lucias thinks to himself as he pushes himself onto the balls of his feet so he can rest his chin on Esker’s shoulder. It isn’t too far of a stretch to do such, and admittedly, Lucias does it more out of muscle memory than anything. In the past, Esker had always been at least four inches taller than him. Lucias supposes it’s a testament to how much time has passed that now they’re less than an inch apart.

 

“And I’ve missed you as well.” Lucias pulls back from the embrace to smile at Esker, his heterochromatic eyes soft with whimsy and nostalgia. His hands drop from the other man’s sides and Lucias’ keen eyes miss the way Esker’s lips give the faintest twitch downwards in disappointment at the removal of the priest’s hands. “Please, please, come in,” Lucias says with a quiet happiness in his voice as he ushers the gambler into his room. 

 

A soft chuckle falls from Esker’s lips as he enters the room, just barely stepping past Lucias. “Why, thank you. I was beginning to worry you wouldn’t invite me in,” He playfully teases as his eyes follow the graceful movements of Lucias hands as he closes the door behind them. “You know, you should really lock the door. People can just come in here anytime when you leave the door unlocked like that.”

 

Lucias turns back to Esker with a light, airy chuckle. “But if my door had been locked, then you wouldn’t have been able to surprise me as pleasantly.” He reminds Esker with a smile as he walks back into his room. He subtly gestures for his childhood friend to follow him to a meager table with only two chairs next to the fireplace. “Here, come and take a seat. I’ll get us something to drink.” 

 

However, just as Lucias turns to get a few beverages from the simple kitchen, he feels Esker’s hand wrap around his wrist, halting him in his tracks. “Oh, there’s no need for that.” The gambler shakes his head and smiles at Lucias when the pale man turns back to him. “I already drank at the tavern. I just came to… ‘talk’ is the right word, I suppose.” 

 

_ ‘Esker is being oddly careful with his words,’ _ Lucias notes to himself as they both take a seat at the table. He watches Esker carefully, his eyes tracking the way Esker’s fingers fiddle with his earring.  _ ‘Is that a different earring than usual? Oh. His entire outfit is different. He looks… He looks handsome in that suit. I think I quite like him in formalwear.’ _ Lucias thinks to himself as he allows himself a few moments of glancing over Esker’s tapered waist and strong arms and the way his clothes fit over him.  _ ‘I must be sure my thoughts remain pure.’  _ Lucias has to refrain from worrying his lower lip between his teeth as he asks, “So what is it you wanted to ‘talk’ about, Esker?” 

 

Esker seems to jolt as Lucias asks the question, his fingers giving a bit too hard of a tug on the chain of his earring. Lucias laughs a little as the magician glares at his own hand. But Lucias stops laughing immediately when the other man lets out a soft sigh. Esker sounds serious, incredibly so, and as he looks the priest in the eye, Lucias finds worry beginning to bubble up in his throat. “I suppose it’s more appropriate to say that I have a question,” Esker says softly, his lovely voice just barely concealing a tremor in its words. 

 

“You’re stalling, Esker. Please, just tell me what it is you want to know the answer to.” Lucias voice isn’t exactly harsh, but it’s more serious than Esker is used to. Thankfully, this doesn’t scare the gambler like Lucias is scared it might. He just wants to show Esker that he’s taking his concerns seriously, and fortunately, Esker seems to understand this as he offers Lucias a weak smile.

 

“You’re right, per usual.” Esker chuckles weakly as he reaches up to run a nervous hand through his tastefully tousled hair. His eyes move up to the ceiling as he sighs again before looking back into Lucias’ expecting gaze. “I wanted to ask if…  _  thinking _ about someone is a sin.” His words are carefully chosen and Lucias can tell that Esker has taken a while to plan out this very sentence.

 

His back straightens as his mind is sent reeling.  _ ‘Esker is ‘thinking’ of someone? What does that mean? Could he be…?’ _ Lucias pushes his own questions aside for the sake of his friend. “You will need to give me more detail. I’m afraid that simply thinking of someone isn’t a sin,” He says quietly, as if the walls were eavesdropping, though his words are followed by a playful, crooked smile.

 

Esker’s cheeks, for the first time that Lucias has ever seen, take on a light pink hue, the color very similar to that of cacti flowers. It surprises Lucias for a moment and he blinks with wide eyes as he watches Esker begin to nervously toy with his earring again. “Well, I suppose that you could say the thoughts are more…  _ romantic _ in nature, if that helps.”

 

Purple and blue eyes roll as Lucias shakes his head fondly at his friend's newly revealed romantic side. "Esker, I am almost positive that you know that having romantic thoughts about someone isn’t a sin.” Again, Lucias can’t help the breezy, cheerful laugh that falls from his lips. 

 

“I mean, of  _ course _ I know that,” Esker groans, one of his hands coming up to cover his eyes as his cheeks flush a more vibrant hue. He leans forward, resting his elbow on the table between them as he adjusts his hand so it cradles his chin. He still looks nervous, but he’s clearly trying to hold it back ans replace the nervous pinch of his eyebrows and thin line of his lips with a relaxed, calm, inquisitive smile. “Just… Well, I suppose the most specific I can get is, ‘Is it a sin to think of a  _ priest _ in a romantic sense?’”

 

That catches Lucias off guard for a moment. “...A priest, you say?” He asks quietly as he taps the pad of his index finger on the table. His mind is racing, trying to figure out just who Esker could mean.  _ ‘Does Esker know any priests besides me? I didn’t think-’ _

 

Lucias thoughts are cut off with that thought, and a bright smile paints itself across his lips. “Why Esker, is it possible that you have a crush on me?” He asks coyly, a vivid rose pink splashing over his cheekbones. His finger taps against the wood grain of the table one last time as he carefully watches Esker for the other man’s reaction.

 

The flush on Esker’s cheeks only grows darker as he gives a small, nervous huff of laughter. “It’s possible, yes,” He says, and Lucias can see the resolve strengthen in those stunning grey eyes at the fact that he doesn’t outright reject Esker. “It’s possible that I have for a good while now.”

 

The grin on Lucias’ pale pink lips only grows wider as he asks, “Oh? Well that is a very interesting possibility.” He reaches across the table to take Esker’s free hand in both of his own. His thumbs gently rub circles into the back of Esker’s clever hand before Lucias raises the back of Esker’s hand to his lips. He maintains the gambler’s wide-eyed gaze as he presses a soft, chaste kiss to the smooth skin of Esker’s hand. When he places their hands back on the table, he smiles sweetly at Esker as he says, “And, just so you are aware, it is by no means a sin to have a crush on me.”

 

Esker’s face is still bright strawberry red as he watches Lucias’ actions. “Oh… Well that’s good to know. Is… Is it a sin to ask for a kiss?” He asks, his voice some odd combination of shy and sly that suits him oh-so-well.

 

Lucias chuckles lightly and softly squeezes Esker’s hand between his own. “Not at all, but I expect you to take me on a date first.”

 

Esker smiles back at Lucias just brightly. “Of course, of course. How does fishing sound for a first date?”


End file.
